Chapter 7: A Broken Bone Takes a Hundred Days to Heal, I Must Accompany You
Yangcheng First People’s Hospital.
Even at midnight, the outpatient building was still a flurry of people rushing about, and the sharp scent of disinfectant hit their senses immediately.
Jiang Louqi was terrified that someone might accidentally bump into Xie Jiuchen’s arm, so he took special care to shield the man’s side. He considered taking Xie Jiuchen’s hand to guide him, but his hand hovered before falling back down; he feared the other might take offense or find it inappropriate. In the end, he could only lightly touch the man’s injured arm.
Finally, after finishing the queue and registering at the orthopedic department, Jiang Louqi held the payment slip, glancing at it while keeping an eye on the man beside him.
“What must we do now?” Xie Jiuchen looked up at the row upon row of buildings in the emergency department, a flicker of bewilderment crossing his face.
“First, we’ll wait outside the orthopedic office. I expect you’ll need to have a film taken.”
As they spoke, the elevator doors slowly opened. Jiang Louqi gripped the man’s sleeve with two fingers to lead him inside and pressed the button for the fifth floor.
Taking… a film? Why must they film a fraud?
Xie Jiuchen pondered these words, his brow knitting in thought. The human world truly contained too many unknown variables; he really needed to spend some time studying…
While he was lost in thought, Jiang Louqi turned to look at him, the corners of his lips curving upward as he said jokingly, “Handsome, have you really never been to a hospital before?”
“I rarely fall ill. At most, I take two doses of herbal medicine and I am well.” Xie Jiuchen raised his other hand into a fist and coughed awkwardly twice.
It turned out that while the man before him appeared to be a reckless rogue, he was actually quite shrewd. His tone was clearly laced with a hint of testing, suggesting more than what was on the surface.
“Haha, even though you look a bit fragile on the outside, your constitution is actually quite good.”
Jiang Louqi tactfully turned his head and stopped prying; he didn’t want to leave a bad impression by filling the air with pointless chatter.
They exited the elevator, rounded a few departments, and arrived at the door of the orthopedic clinic. The people waiting for their numbers to be called were mostly parents with children. It made sense—during the growth stage, a child’s bones have more elasticity and toughness, making them prone to deformation and dislocation.
This inevitably reminded Jiang Louqi of his own childhood, when he spent every day climbing trees and scaling walls, resulting in many a broken bone.
“Have a seat. We can go in once the doctor calls your number.” Jiang Louqi sat down beside the man, suddenly feeling a bit restless.
What the hell? Am I, a grown man, actually feeling unnatural? Am I… shy?! How bizarre…
Xie Jiuchen simply sat there quietly, looking straight ahead without saying a word, embodying the air of a refined gentleman. A glance at Jiang Louqi revealed him slouching, his backside unable to stay still as if he were sitting on pins and needles.
Because of this hyperactivity, his elementary school teacher once thought he was ill. While other children sat obediently, he was the only one constantly jumping around, which eventually forced Grandpa Jiang to take him to the hospital for treatment…
Deciding that this standoff couldn’t continue, Jiang Louqi broke the ice by extending a hand of friendship to the man.
“By the way, after all this tossing around, I still don’t know your name. Let me introduce myself—I’m Jiang Louqi. ‘Lou’ as in building, and ‘Qi’ as in abandoned. Because of this name, my old man loved to say I was a foundling he picked up from a stairwell.”
Jiang… Louqi? It’s actually him?
Xie Jiuchen, who had been about to reach out to shake his hand, immediately retracted it. The warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by an imperceptible layer of indifference and loathing. “Xie Jiuchen.”
Perhaps because he was used to being carefree, Jiang Louqi didn’t bother to read the room. He simply assumed the man disliked physical contact—after all, handsome guys often had a bit of a cleanliness obsession. He sheepishly lowered his hand that had been hanging in the air.
He failed to notice Xie Jiuchen’s sudden change in mood. Crossing his hands behind his head, he looked up at the ceiling. “When shall I thank the nine dusts, as the immortal crane escorts the high carriage. It has a nice ring to it.”
The doctor finally poked his head out to call the number. It was finally their turn. This deadly slow queuing speed had probably seen the day’s plans go cold several times over.
Jiang Louqi tried to help him up, but he felt the man intentionally or unintentionally avoiding him. He had no choice but to awkwardly pull back his fingers and accompany him inside.
The orthopedic surgeon asked a few basic questions and examined Xie Jiuchen’s arm, which was slightly swollen in one area. “In this situation, it’s likely a fracture, though it isn’t particularly obvious. Let’s head to the radiology department for an X-ray first.”
Jiang Louqi patiently took him to radiology. After all, he had to take responsibility for the trouble he caused…
After a series of tedious procedures, the report confirmed a minor fracture. Xie Jiuchen appeared somewhat helpless and could only let the doctor treat the wound and perform anti-swelling therapy. Furthermore, the doctor had to perform a manual reduction before fixing the arm with a splint. Only after confirming the bone was reset did Jiang Louqi quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
Leaving the hospital, Jiang Louqi looked at the man’s arm hanging in a bandage and felt a mixture of emotions. He was dying of guilt! A perfectly healthy handsome guy had been turned into a “cripple” by his reckless driving; he really didn’t know how to treasure a beauty…
He gritted his teeth and frustratedly tapped his head. Unable to face Xie Jiuchen, he kept his head down as he spoke: “Where do you live? I’ll take you back.”
Seeing the other man so full of self-reproach and embarrassment, Xie Jiuchen blinked and turned away. He was strangely afraid that the man might see through his own guilty conscience. He only wanted Jiang Louqi to stay far away from him. As he walked, he declined politely: “There is no need. I can walk back myself.”
“No way. How can you walk back like this?”
Jiang Louqi quickly turned the bike around and rode the Kawasaki slowly beside him, nagged incessantly. He looked exceptionally sincere as he apologized. “A broken bone takes a hundred days to heal. During these hundred days, I’ll have to take you to the hospital every few days to change your bandages!”
Xie Jiuchen’s expression remained placid, but as the wind blew, his entire being suddenly exuded an icy chill. “There is no need to trouble yourself. I can go change them on my own.”
“I hit you; I must take responsibility for you to the very end.” Jiang Louqi continued to pester him relentlessly.
A hint of faint anger finally appeared in the depths of Xie Jiuchen’s eyes. He couldn’t understand how there could be such a shameless person in this world. He was forced to stop and say each word clearly: “There is really no need. I have forgiven you. You do not need to take responsibility. Please let me go.”
The tactic of “beauties fear persistent suitors” seemed to be working. Jiang Louqi grew even more spirited, determined to take the man home today, lest this handsome beauty meet another accident. He rode the motorcycle leisurely, his gaze elegant and clean. Like his personality, he exuded a sense of casual indifference—unattached, effortless, and possessing a hint of nonchalant laziness.
“Anyway, I’m bored. I won’t feel at ease unless I see you home safely. At worst, we can just travel to the end of the world together on this bike.”
Xie Jiuchen suddenly heard the man let out a heartless chuckle. It wasn’t heavy or light, but it carried an innate composure and disregard for consequences. For a moment, he actually didn’t know what to say.
After walking for a while, Jiang Louqi started yawning, feeling as if he could fall off the bike at any moment. Xie Jiuchen finally surrendered and got onto the bike. “Take me back to the faculty dormitory building of Yangcheng No. 2 Middle School.”
“You got it!” Jiang Louqi’s sleepiness vanished instantly, and he felt refreshed. He rubbed his hands, which were frozen stiff from the cold wind. “So you really are a teacher?”
“Yes. A piano teacher.”
“A piano teacher! That’s great! You can play and sing… wait.”
Jiang Louqi’s brain suddenly stalled as he realized the problem. He wore a very troubled expression. “Crap… then, didn’t I just smash your rice bowl? Dammit, I’m practically sub-human…”
Since it wasn’t truly his fault, Xie Jiuchen didn’t care. He sat there with a calm face and gave a symbolic word of comfort: “It is of no consequence. I still have my other hand.”
“Sigh. If you can’t teach and end up with no salary, come find me at the SNE Special Agency. I’ll treat you to dinner.”
As he spoke, Jiang Louqi took a business card from his inner pocket. With one hand steadying the handlebar, he reached back to hand it to him. “This is my card. It has the agency’s address on it. You can come find me there.”
Xie Jiuchen reached out to take it. He lowered his eyes to glance at it before casually stuffing it into his jacket pocket. His tone lacked even a hint of warmth: “Thank you.”
Click-clack. Across the road, Chu Zhixing casually snapped a photo of the two people on the motorcycle.
[Useless Director Jiang: Return the Command of Yanluo to me tomorrow. I’m busy with something.]
He looked at the message Jiang Louqi had sent several hours ago. A cold sneer played on his thin lips. He walked over to lean against a pine tree and sent a reply:
[Threw it away.]
Chu Zhixing toyed with the pitch-black token. Its crimson tassel was strong and flexible, and it emitted a faint, lingering ghostly aura. Without hesitation, he tossed it into a nearby trash can and sauntered away.
A moment later, he slowly sauntered back to the spot. He picked up the pathetic Command of Yanluo lying in the bin, brushed off the dust, and muttered to the token: “Forget it. I don’t want to go back to the Eighteen Levels of Hell yet.”
Translator’s Note:
A few things from this chapter:
- Taking a film (拍片子 – Pāipiànzi): This is a pun in Chinese. While it means taking an X-ray, pianzi (骗子) also means “scammer” or “fraud.” Xie Jiuchen, being from ancient times, is understandably confused as to why the hospital wants to photograph a fraud.
- Rice bowl (飯碗 – fànwǎn): A common Chinese idiom for one’s livelihood or job. Breaking someone’s rice bowl means making them lose their job.
- A broken bone takes a hundred days to heal (傷筋動骨一百天): A very common Chinese saying. It emphasizes that recovery from physical injury takes a long time and requires patience.
- Eighteen Levels of Hell (十八層地獄): Mentioned by Chu Zhixing. In Chinese mythology, this is where the most sinful souls are punished. Poor Chu Zhixing is so traumatized by it that he’d rather keep working for Jiang Louqi!
- Xie Jiuchen’s Poem: Jiang Louqi is quoting a line that sounds like it could be from a classical poem. It roughly translates to “When shall I thank the nine dusts [the mortal world], as the immortal crane escorts the high carriage.” It’s very ironic considering Xie Jiuchen literally is a high-ranking entity from that world.
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